A new kind of electronic trolley may soon be making its way to your supermarket. The idea is to use RFID technology to enable, to be honest, increased sales for the retailer. It may also help the consumer to get more out of the “shopping experience”.

Don't miss the latest in the British Library's series of 'Inspiring Entrepreneurs' events on Monday 17 March 2008. In celebration of International Women's Month, Five Mothers of Invention
Lorraine Heggessey, Jessica Huie, Sam Roddick, Debbie Reynolds and Sian Sutherland will inspire you at this event.

A new Welsh event that pulls together innovation from across the sectors is attracting the big guns and some interesting sporting insights to the National Cricket Centre, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on March 11 to turn Innovation into Action.

Following an open competition, Joly Dixon, CMG has been appointed as Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property. Making the formal appointment, John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills said,

The BBC is currently searching for Britain’s best entrepreneurs and will be auditioning throughout the coming months.  They want to hear from anyone who thinks they’ve got what it takes to enter the Dragons’ Den.  Dragons’ Den continues to offer entrepreneurs from across the country the chance to make their business dreams come true.

I was on holiday recently when I noticed a street vendor selling those pesky weasels which move back and forth as they try to manoeuvre a ball. I picked up a box, saw that it was called the “Weazel Ball®” (not “weasel”), that it was made in China, and that it claimed to be patented.

Electric toothbrushes have been around for decades, but I’ve just found on the supermarket shelves a disposable electric toothbrush.

It was back in 1997 that Amazon.com applied for the so-called “one-click ordering” patent, but its repercussions rumble on.

I was reminded of it by a notice on the European Patent Office’s web site stating that EP 927945, a granted patent which they called the “gift order patent”, had been revoked after opposition by three parties, including the Foundation for Free Information Infrastructure (FFEI). The notice stated that this patent was not to be confused with the “one-click” patent.

Christmas is coming, and one present that will certainly be in short supply is Nintendo’s Wii™ game console.

As of the end of September 2007 over 13 million units had been sold worldwide, following the launch at the end of 2006. Despite this the console sells out almost immediately in the UK as soon as supplies are delivered to shops. A typical price, with a few games bundled in, is £300.

For a long time I have eyed the self-service checkouts at my local Sainsbury’s, but have been too nervous to try them out.  The impetus behind them seems to date from American patent 4787467, which was applied for in 1987 by Neldon Johnson. It is key because over 40 later patents from many companies have it cited against them as relevant prior art, quite a number.